Posted!

Join the Conversation

Comments

Welcome to our new and improved comments, which are for subscribers only.
This is a test to see whether we can improve the experience for you.
You do not need a Facebook profile to participate.

You will need to register before adding a comment.
Typed comments will be lost if you are not logged in.

Please be polite.
It's OK to disagree with someone's ideas, but personal attacks, insults, threats, hate speech, advocating violence and other violations can result in a ban.
If you see comments in violation of our community guidelines, please report them.

“But people who were fooled once by a fake email scam won’t be fooled again,” he said, referring to the email server scandal that shadowed Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign last year.

The email issue was raised by longtime City Hall critic Erwin Jackson during a Q&A period after Gillum delivered a campaign speech promising to fix state education, protect the environment and stimulate the economy.

“You never let me down, Erwin,” Gillum said before launching into an explanation to a crowd of about 200 people at the Tucker Civic Center.

Buy Photo

Frequent City Hall critic Erwin Jackson asks Mayor Andrew Gillum about his alleged misuse use of city resources after the mayor's speech at the May 31 meeting of the Tiger Bay Club at the Tucker Civic Center.(Photo: Hali Tauxe/Democrat)

Gillum used $5,000 in city money to buy software from a Democratic Party vendor to aid in sending out emails for his gubernatorial campaign. He paid the city back and apologized after it was first reported two months ago on the eve of his announcement to run for governor.

Further investigation by the Tallahassee Democrat showed some emails flowing out of the Mayor's Office were of a campaign or political nature.

Frequent City Hall critic Erwin Jackson asks Mayor Andrew Gillum about his alleged misuse use of city resources after the mayor's speech at the May 31 meeting of the Tiger Bay Club at the Tucker Civic Center. Hali Tauxe/Democrat

Mayor Andrew Gillum fields a question from frequent City Hall critic Erwin Jackson about Gillum's use of city resources after the mayor's speech at the May 31 meeting of the Tiger Bay Club at the Tucker Civic Center.
Hali Tauxe/Democrat

Interested in this topic? You may also want to view these photo galleries:

In the recording, a man portraying the mayor welcomes visitors to the state’s most dangerous city, a reference to a recent study by Wall Street 24/7 citing two-year-old FBI data that Tallahassee has more crimes per capita than any other city in Florida.

The recording recommends people get their bulletproof T-shirts at the airport gift shop.

Gillum said he saw the headlines about Tallahassee being the most dangerous city in Florida for two years running.

"We can argue that," he said and looked forward to seeing what the 2016 data will say about improvements Tallahassee has made to address its crime problem — including hiring 35 new officers.

"I think you will be impressed by the progress we've made," Gillum said.

Gillum also used the occasion to criticize candidates with famous last names (Graham is daughter of beloved former governor and senator Bob Graham) and the ability to write huge checks to their own campaigns (King gave himself a $1 million boost).

Buy Photo

Mayor Andrew Gillum (right) talks to Greg Marr Jr. after speaking at the May 31 meeting of theTiger Bay Club at the Tucker Civic Center.(Photo: Hali Tauxe/Democrat)

Democrats lost the last two gubernatorial elections within 1 percent of the vote, even though they were outspent by Republicans. Gillum said that's because there was a drop-off in younger voters, poor voters and others.

"The numbers are there. The question is are we going to give them a candidate that represents them," Gillum said, adding he was a clear choice and not "Republican lite."

Noting that his public service record is more than a decade long, he said, "People need to know we're offering something different."

Contact Schweers at jschweers@tallahassee.com. Follow him on Twitter @jeffschweers.